Videogames: The Sims FreePlay - Language & Representations

Our first videogames CSP is The Sims FreePlay (2011).

This is another in-depth CSP so will require significant work and research to complete your case study.

Background: mobile gaming

• The videogames industry has changed massively since the emergence of the smart phone and app store distribution model.
• Mobile gaming has changed the audience demographics for gaming and brought the industry into the mainstream.
• The app store model means tech giants such as Apple and Google are making significant sums from mobile gaming but mobile hits can still earn developers millions.
• Angry Birds made developer Rovio $200m in 2012 and broke 2 billion downloads in 2014. This paved the way for the market we see today.

The Sims FreePlay

• The Sims FreePlay is a spin-off from the hugely successful Sims franchise first published by Electronic Arts (EA) in 2000.
• The game is a strategic life simulation game (also known as the sandbox genre). 
• The Sims FreePlay takes the game on to phones and tablets and uses the ‘freemium’ model that makes money via in-app purchases.
• The game has seen more than 200 million downloads since 2011 – remarkable success.

Representations

The Sims franchise offers range of representations on gender, age, race/ethnicity, sexuality, capitalism and even reality itself.

One aspect of The Sims is the values and ideologies that the game reinforces. Although it has been praised for its liberal values over, for example, LGBTQ+ representation, it could also be argued that the game reinforces dominant American capitalist ideologies.

Expansion pack trailers

A useful way to analyse representations in The Sims FreePlay is to study the trailers produced by EA to promote expansion pack DLC. For example: 





Using these expansion pack trailers, we can study the representation of gender, age, race/ethnicity and much more.

The Sims and postmodernism

Watch this introduction to Baudrillard from 8-Bit Philosophy:



Baudrillard argued that our culture now perceives the ‘copy’ (media representation) as more real than the ‘original’ and stated that we live in a culture where the ‘fake’ is more readily accepted than the ‘real’ – therefore creating hyperreality. This blurs the line between fiction and reality.

The Sims franchise is a perfect study in hyperreality as it allows players to create an entirely constructed life through the game.

The Sims FreePlay social media channels also provide an example of simulacra – they are situated in the real world and interact with real players but feature entirely constructed fictional content from the game. Here, they also make intertextual references to real celebrities. Where is the line between fiction and reality?

You can read more on Baudrillard, Hyperreality, postmodernism and The Sims in these notes - you'll need your Greenford Google login. 

The Sims FreePlay CSP - Language & Representations blog tasks

Create a new blogpost called 'The Sims FreePlay CSP - Language & Representations' and complete the following tasks.

Language / Gameplay analysis

Watch The Sims: FreePlay trailer and answer the following questions:

1) What elements of gameplay are shown?

2) What audience is the trailer targeting?

3) What audience pleasures are suggested by the trailer?

Now watch this walk-through of the beginning of The Sims FreePlay and answer the following questions:

1) How is the game constructed?

2) What audience is this game targeting?

3) What audience pleasures does the game provide?

4) How does the game encourage in-app purchases?

Representations

Re-watch some of the expansion pack trailers and answer the following questions:

1) How do the expansion pack (DLC) trailers reinforce or challenge dominant ideologies?

2) What stereotypes have you identified in The Sims FreePlay?

3) What media theories can you apply to representations in The Sims FreePlay?

Representation reading

Read this Forbes article on gender and racism in The Sims franchise and answer the following questions:

1) How realistic does The Sims intend to be?

2) How has The Sims tried to create more realistic representations of ethnicity?

3) How has The Sims responded to racism and sexism in society?

4) What is The Sims perspective on gender fluidity and identity?

5) How does The Sims reinforce the dominant capitalist ideologies of American culture?

Read this New Normative feature on LGBTQ representation in The Sims franchise (the website link no longer works but that will take you to the text of the article - you'll need your Greenford Google login to access). Answer the following questions:

1) How did same-sex relationships unexpectedly help the original Sims game to be a success?

2) How is sexuality now represented in The Sims?

3) Why have fans praised the inclusion of LGBTQ relationships in The Sims franchise?

4) Why did the Sims run into regulatory difficulties with American regulator the ESRB? How did EA respond?

5) How is sexuality represented in the wider videogames industry today?

Reality, postmodernism and The Sims

Read this Paste Magazine feature on reality and The Sims franchise. Answer the following questions:

1) What does the article suggest about the representation of real life in The Sims 4?

2) What audience pleasures did the writer previously find in The Sims franchise?

3) Why the does the writer mention an example of a washer and dryer as additional DLC?

4) In your opinion, has The Sims made an error in trying to make the franchise too realistic?

5) How does this representation of reality link to Baudrillard’s theory of hyperreality - the increasingly blurred line between real and constructed?

The Sims FreePlay social media analysis

Analyse The Sims FreePlay Facebook page and Twitter feed and answer the following questions:

1) What is the purpose of The Sims FreePlay social media channels?

2) Choose three posts (from either Twitter or Facebook) and make a note of what they are and how they encourage audience interaction or response.

3) Scroll down the Facebook feed briefly. How many requests for new content can you find from players? Why is this such as an important part of the appeal for The Sims FreePlay?

4) What tweets can you find in the Twitter feed that refer to additional content or other revenue streams for EA?


Extension: Postmodernism academic reading

If you're interested (or planning on studying Media or Cultural Studies at university), read this highly academic and challenging summary of hyperreality, implosion and postmodern theory from the University of Chicago. Consider how these approaches apply to the digital media landscape we’ve been studying and in particular the videogame industry and franchises like The Sims. For example, linking to our work on postmodernism and The Sims, how could The Sims FreePlay's social media presence be an example of Baudrillard’s hyperreality and simulacra?

Due date: on Google Classroom

Videogames: Henry Jenkins - fandom and participatory culture

Our first lesson in Videogames explores the work of Henry Jenkins -  a named audience theorist and an expert in fandom and participatory culture.

We need to apply Jenkins's ideas to our upcoming videogame CSPs but also think back to where his ideas are relevant with other media texts we have studied. His work on participatory culture links with Clay Shirky in places and the concept of fandom is important to many media texts - from TV drama to Taylor Swift in particular.

Videogames: an introduction

Videogames is our final in-depth media topic. Our Videogames CSPs are The Sims FreePlay and Horizon Forbidden West.

These are in-depth CSPs and need to be studied with reference to all four elements of the Theoretical Framework (Language, Representation, Industries, Audience) and all relevant contexts. This will then be tested in the Media Two exam with a 25-mark essay question.

The videogames industry is a huge media market – bigger than video and music combined. It is worth more than £4bn – more than double its value in 2007. Remarkably, these figures do not include mobile and free games such as Fortnite (which has over 600 million players worldwide).

With games like FIFA/FC, Red Dead Redemption and Call of Duty each selling millions of copies, it is important to consider the influence games can have on audiences and society.

Henry Jenkins: participatory culture

Henry Jenkins is an expert in fandom and participatory culture. Key to this idea is the concept of the ‘prosumer’ – audiences that create as well as consume media. This culture has revolutionised fan communities with the opportunity to create and share content. It also links to Clay Shirky’s work on ‘mass amateurisation’.

Fandom is now big business – with Comic-Con events making millions. More importantly, the internet has demonstrated the size of fan communities so it is no longer a minority of ‘geek’ stereotypes but mainstream popular culture (such as Marvel, Harry Potter or Doctor Who).



Jenkins defends fan cultures and argues that fans are often stereotyped negatively in the media because they value popular culture (e.g. films or games) over traditional cultural capital (high brow culture or knowledge). The irony is fan culture is often dominated by middle class, educated audiences.

Jenkins discusses ‘textual poaching’ – when fans take texts and re-edit or develop their meanings, a process called semiotic productivity. Fan communities are also quick to criticise if they feel a text or character is developing in a way they don’t support.

Henry Jenkins - fandom blog tasks

The following tasks will give you an excellent introduction to fandom and also allow you to start exploring degree-level insight into audience studies. Work through the following:

Factsheet #107 - Fandom

Read Media Factsheet #107 on Fandom. Use our Media Factsheet archive on the M: drive Media Shared (M:\Resources\A Level\Media Factsheets) or log into your Greenford Google account to access the link. Read the whole of Factsheet and answer the following questions:

1) What is the definition of a fan?

2) What the different types of fan identified in the factsheet?

3) What makes a ‘fandom’?

4) What is Bordieu’s argument regarding the ‘cultural capital’ of fandom?

5) What examples of fandom are provided on pages 2 and 3 of the factsheet?

6) Why is imaginative extension and text creation a vital part of digital fandom?

Henry Jenkins - degree-level reading

Read the final chapter of ‘Fandom’ – written by Henry Jenkins (note: link may be blocked in school - try this Google Drive link if you need it.) This will give you an excellent introduction to the level of reading required for seminars and essays at university as well as degree-level insight into our current work on fandom and participatory culture. Answer the following questions:

1) There is an important quote on the first page: “It’s not an audience, it’s a community”. What does this mean?

2) Jenkins quotes Clay Shirky in the second page of the chapter. Pick out a single sentence of the extended quote that you think is particularly relevant to our work on participatory culture and the ‘end of audience’ (clue – look towards the end!)

3) What are the different names Jenkins discusses for these active consumers that are replacing the traditional audience?

4) On the third page of the chapter, what does Wired editor Chris Anderson suggest regarding the economic argument in favour of fan communities?

5) What examples does Jenkins provide to argue that fan culture has gone mainstream?

6) Look at the quote from Andrew Blau in which he discusses the importance of grassroots creativity. Pick out a sentence from the longer quote and decide whether you agree that audiences will ‘reshape the media landscape from the bottom up’.

7) What does Jenkins suggest the new ideal consumer is?

8) Why is fandom 'the future'?

9) What does it mean when Jenkins says we shouldn’t celebrate ‘a process that commodifies fan cultural production’?

10) Read through to the end of the chapter. What do you think the future of fandom is? Are we all fans now? Is fandom mainstream or are real fan communities still an example of a niche media audience?

Due date: on Google Classroom.

OSP: Final index

Having reached the end of our Online, Social and Participatory media unit we need to create an index to ensure we haven't missed any of the content. 

Creating an index is a great way to revise for your upcoming OSP assessment as well as ensuring you haven't missed anything. 

Online, Social and Participatory media index

Your index should include the following:

1) OSP: Clay Shirky - End of Audience blog tasks
2) OSP: Influencers and celebrity culture

3) OSP: Taylor Swift CSP - Language and Representations

4) OSP: Taylor Swift CSP - Audience and Industries 

5) Baseline Assessment learner response

6) OSP: Postcolonial theory - Gilroy and diasporic identity

7) OSP: The Voice - blog case study

For your index, the text should link to YOUR corresponding blogpost so you can access your work on each aspect of the case study quickly and easily. This also means you if you have missed anything you can catch up with the work and notes and won't underperform in assessments due to gaps in your knowledge. 

Assessment - after half-term

You will have an assessment on OSP after half-term - a 25-mark essay plus unseen text question. This is excellent practice for Media Paper 2 and also a chance to boost your UCAS grade if you haven't submitted your application yet.

Index due date: see Google Classroom.

Coursework: Statement of Intent

Our coursework projects are developing well with filming underway and rough cut edits due before Christmas. We now need to update our Statement of Intent with our projects fully planned. 

This week, we need to write and submit a second draft of our Statement of Intent that will be marked and given feedback in terms of a current level and approximate grade. The Statement of Intent is worth 10 of the 60 marks so if we want A/A* we'll need something close to full marks on this component. 

 
One important point to remember is that your Statement of Intent is what you are planning to do - so it must be written in the future tense ('I will...' rather than 'I have...') This is not an evaluation but instead a written account of what you intend to produce.

You need to submit the second draft of your Statement of Intent as a NEW blog post AND email or share a version from Microsoft Word / Google Docs with your coursework teacher. Statement of Intent guidance is provided by AQA in their NEA Student Booklet but we strongly recommend you also look at our Statement of Intent questions to consider document too (you'll need to log in with your Greenford Google account to open these documents). 

Finally, here's an example Statement of Intent from a previous year (note different brief - TV drama) to give you some ideas on how you can use layout and bullet points to include a large amount of information while keeping close to the 500-word limit.

Statement of Intent deadline: see Google Classroom

Mark scheme

A few of you have requested the mark scheme for the Statement of Intent. You can find it in the A Level Media specification document here - on pages 21-22 (if you keep scrolling you can also find the mark scheme for the remaining 50 marks for your productions).

Your statement of intent is a vital part of the project so make sure you are demonstrating your excellent knowledge of media concepts, terminology and theory.

Coursework: Filming

Our coursework projects are really starting to take off with some great preliminary exercises. Now it's time to complete filming on our full three-minute video productions.

This next stage of the project is critical - it is where the video project will stand or fall. The next tasks and deadlines are as follows:

Production filming window

Film everything you need for your three-minute video production.

Filming window: Friday 18 October - Monday 18 November. This means you need to film everything between these two dates.
Deadline: Monday 18 November

Video rough cut deadline

Full three-minute edited and exported rough cut (first draft) of your production uploaded to YouTube and linked on your blog. 

Deadline: Monday 9 December

Tutorials
While you work on the above deadlines, you will have another tutorial with your coursework teacher looking at your pre-production planning, statement of intent and checking your project is on track. For those who film early in the filming window, it will also involve checking the 'rushes' (the film clips as they come in). 

If you need a recap on the brief from AQA, you can find the brief here - Brief 4: Music video & Music magazine.

This is the moment you need to step up... we're asking for professional standards to match the incredible production work Greenford Media students have produced in the past. Good luck!

Coursework: Pre-production planning

Pre-production is an essential part of the filmmaking process. You now need to plan your music video in detail to ensure you capture everything you need when filming.

There are four key elements to pre-production: music video treatment, mise-en-scene planning, a comprehensive shot list and a well-planned shooting schedule.

Create a new blogpost on your coursework blog called 'Music video pre-production' and work through the following planning tasks:

1) Music video treatment

You may already have a finished music video treatment from your summer project and/or preliminary exercise - definitely use or develop that if it works with your project. 

However, you may need to update your treatment or even change it completely now you have finished your preliminary exercise. The original example from the summer for music video treatments can be found here.

2) Mise-en-scene planning

Plan everything that will appear in front of the camera in your music video - and this is vital when it comes to music video and music genre. 

Remember CLAMPS: Costume, Lighting, Actors (cast, placement, movement, expression), Make-up, Props, Setting.

Costume
What will your artist wear? What other costumes will be required? What is the costume supposed to communicate to the audience? How does this link to genre or constructing representations?

Lighting
How will you light the different scenes in your music video? Day or night? Interior or exterior? If outside, can you use streetlights, shadows, reflected sunlight or other creative techniques to achieve the lighting style you want? If inside, experiment with creative lighting techniques using windows, blinds, artificial lights, phone flashes, ring lights and more. You may also want to use our professional lighting set-up with a white or greenscreen background depending on how you plan to conduct the interviews - speak to Mr Ray if you want to arrange this for an after-school filming session.

Actors/performers
The first thing you need to plan is your cast - who will be in your production? The key casting is obviously your artist but you may have other characters too. Try and cast people who are reasonably similar to the character or performer they are playing (both in age and personality). Next, plan their placement and movement in key scenes - how will the audience get to know them? How do you plan to position the audience to connect with your artist?

Make-up
Plan any make-up you require - this can be very important for music video.

Props
What props will you require? Remember, you can't use anything that might resemble a weapon in a public or school location (this is VERY important). Well-planned props can help to communicate genre and narrative quickly - vital in a music video where you can't use dialogue.

Setting
This should already be largely planned using your music video treatment. However, now is the time to specify exact locations. For external locations, try and take pictures of settings or use Google Maps and Google Earth. Spending quality time planning your locations can make a huge difference to the professionalism of your production. AQA also seem to prefer external rather than school-based locations - particularly for a brief like this.

If you have a bit of budget to work with you may want to look at booking a rehearsal studio to get more of a band or performance feel to your music video. Pirate studios are an example of a rehearsal and recording studio with several London locations.

YouTube guidance

There are plenty of tutorials on YouTube to help with the pre-production process.

Here's a video guide to Mise-en-scene at degree or film-school level:



...And here's Darius Britt on the top 15 mistakes new filmmakers make - there are a few key aspects of Mise-en-scene in there:



3) Shot list

The final aspect of your pre-production planning is to write a comprehensive shot list for every single possible shot you plan to film for your music video. For three minutes of music video, that is going to be a LOT of shots - quite possibly more than 200.

Remember, a shot list is a full list of all the shots in your video with information for each of them (shot type, action/movement etc.) Creative shot choices aside, it’s easy to forget that a shot list is a strategic document. Creating a shot list is essentially like creating a shooting gameplan for the day.

Here's our friend Darius with a reminder of the different shot types and angles:

 

Here are some top tips for writing a shot list:

 

Your shot list needs to contain EVERY shot you plan to film for your whole music video AND additional shots to create flexibility when editing. These additional shots are often close-ups, cutaways, alternative angles or similar. Cutaways are important as music videos generally have fast-paced editing so you'll need a LOT of shots.

We advise using a simple table on Microsoft Word or Google Docs to set out your shot list - you can find an example from a short film here. It makes sense to write your shot list by scene or location rather than a huge list of every shot in the promo video in chronological order. 

If you're artistic, you may want to sketch out your shot list in the form of a storyboard. You can find a storyboard template here that you can print and then sketch if that's your preferred way of working.

4) Shooting schedule

See our separate post on filming for this.

Pre-production due date - see Google Classroom.

OSP: The Voice CSP

Our second Online, Social and Participatory CSP is the Voice newspaper website - a niche publication targeting the black British community.

The Voice has a significant place in the social and historical context of race relations and representation in Britain, launching in 1982 in the wake of the Brixton race riots. It is also the perfect case study to further develop our understanding of Paul Gilroy's postcolonial theory we studied last lesson.

The Voice - background and notes

The Voice, founded in 1982, is the only British national black weekly newspaper operating in the United Kingdom. It is owned by GV Media Group Limited, and is aimed at the British African-Caribbean community. The paper is based in London and is published every Thursday. 

The first issue of The Voice was printed to coincide with the Notting Hill Carnival in August 1982. Its cover price was 54 pence, and was only sold in London.

You can read more of this background from the original source - the Voice website About Us page.

The Voice: social and historical context

In 1981, the Brixton race riots shone a spotlight on race relations in Britain. 

The Voice emerged in 1982 partly as a result of these riots – both due to the need to offer a voice and representation to black Britons and also due to a business loan from Barclays Bank. The bank was keen at the time to improve their reputation with the black community due to investments in Apartheid South Africa.

Social context - The Battle for Brixton documentary

The Voice analysis: production values

Despite being an important part of the British media landscape, The Voice arguably offers low production values across its digital operations – website design, video content and social media. 

Watch this video on influential black women in business and analyse the production values (note the view count too):

The Voice: representation

The Voice was launched to cater for the interests of British-born black people. Applying Gilroy’s work on “double consciousness”, it could be argued that the Voice was launched to give black audiences an opportunity to see media through their own eyes rather than through the prism of white, often-biased (or even racist) mainstream British media. This also links to Hall's work on representation and the idea of individuals having their own 'conceptual map'.

The Voice: industries

The Voice is owned by Jamaican media group the Gleaner company and published in Britain by GV Media Group. It is a significant contrast to international giants such as Conde Nast (GQ).

In a similar move to The Guardian's request for donations, The Voice asks its readers to support the publication by paying donations via PayPal. This raises interesting questions regarding the financial viability of online news media and particularly niche publications such as The Voice (or indeed Oh Comely).

The Voice CSP: case study blog tasks

Language and contexts

Homepage

Go to the Voice homepage and answer the following:

1) What news website key conventions can you find on the Voice homepage?

2) What are some of the items in the top menu bar and what does this tell you about the content, values and ideologies of the Voice?

3) Look at the news stories on the Voice homepage. Pick two stories and explain why they might appeal to the Voice's target audience. 

4) How is narrative used to encourage audience engagement with the Voice? Apply narrative theories (e.g. Todorov equilibrium or Barthes’ enigma codes) and make specific reference to stories on the homepage and how they encourage audiences to click through to them.

Lifestyle section

Now analyse the Lifestyle section of the Voice and answer the following:

1) What are the items in the sub-menu bar for the Lifestyle section and what does this suggest about the Voice audience?

2) What are the main stories in the Lifestyle section currently?

3) Do the sections and stories in the Voice Lifestyle section challenge or reinforce black stereotypes in British media?

4) Choose two stories featured in the Lifestyle section – how do they reflect the values and ideologies of the Voice?

Feature focus

1) Read this Voice opinion piece on black representation in the tech industry. How does this piece reflect the values and ideologies of The Voice?

2) Read this feature on The Black Pound campaign. How does this piece reflect the values and ideologies of The Voice?

3) Read this Voice news story on Grenfell tower and Doreen Lawrence. How might this story reflect the Voice’s values and ideologies? What do the comments below suggest about how readers responded to the article? Can you link this to Gilroy’s work on the ‘Black Atlantic’ identity?

Social and cultural contexts - 40 Year of Black British Lives

Read this extract from The Voice: 40 Years of Black British Lives on rapper Swiss creating Black Pound Day (you'll need your Greenford Google login to access the document). Answer the following questions:

1) What is Black Pound Day?

2) How did Black Pound Day utilise social media to generate coverage and support? 

3) How do events such as Black Pound Day and the Powerlist Black Excellence Awards link to wider social, cultural and economic contexts regarding power in British society?  

Audience

1) Who do you think is the target audience for the Voice website? Consider demographics and psychographics.

2) What audience pleasures are provided by the Voice website? Apply media theory here such as Blumler and Katz (Uses & Gratifications).

3) Give examples of sections or content from the website that tells you this is aimed at a specialised or niche audience.

4) Studying the themes of politics, history and racism that feature in some of the Voice’s content, why might this resonate with the Voice’s British target audience?

5) Can you find any examples of content on the Voice website created or driven by the audience or citizen journalism? How does this reflect Clay Shirky’s work on the ‘end of audience’ and the era of ‘mass amateurisation’?

Representations

1) How is the audience positioned to respond to representations in the Voice website?

2) Are representations in the Voice an example of Gilroy’s concept of “double consciousness” NOT applying?

3) What kind of black British identity is promoted on the Voice website? Can you find any examples of Gilroy’s “liquidity of culture” or “unruly multiculturalism” here?

4) Applying Stuart Hall’s constructivist approach to representations, how might different audiences interpret the representations of black Britons in the Voice?

5) Do you notice any other interesting representations in the Voice website? For example, representations or people, places or groups (e.g. gender, age, Britishness, other countries etc.)

Industries

1) Read this Guardian report on the death of the original founder of the Voice. What does this tell you about the original values and ideologies behind the Voice brand? 

2) Read this history of the Voice’s rivals and the struggles the Voice faced back in 2001. What issues raised in the article are still relevant today? 

3) The Voice is now published by GV Media Group, a subsidiary of the Jamaican Gleaner company. What other media brands do the Gleaner company own and why might they be interested in owning the Voice? You'll need to research this using Google/Wikipedia or look at this Guardian article when Gleaner first acquired The Voice.

4) How does the Voice website make money?

5) What adverts or promotions can you find on the Voice website? Are the adverts based on the user’s ‘cookies’ or fixed adverts? What do these adverts tell you about the level of technology and sophistication of the Voice’s website?

6) Is there an element of public service to the Voice’s role in British media or is it simply a vehicle to make profit?

7) What examples of technological convergence can you find on the Voice website – e.g. video or audio content?

8) How has the growth of digital distribution through the internet changed the potential for niche products like the Voice?

9) Analyse The Voice’s Twitter feed. How does this contrast with other Twitter feeds you have studied (such as Taylor Swift)? Are there examples of ‘clickbait’ or does the Voice have a different feel?

10) Study a selection of videos from The Voice’s YouTube channel. What are the production values of their video content?


A/A* Extension tasks

Read Factsheet #272 on Nationhood, Britishness and Identity. This explores the work of Paul Gilroy in more detail and will be very useful in writing about The Voice. It also has an excellent example of how to apply these ideas to a media text.


Homework and deadlines

There is plenty of work here - at least four hours - but this is the only blog task on the Voice and covers all four of the key concepts.

Finish for homework - due date set on Google Classroom.

Coursework: Preliminary exercise feedback and LR

The preliminary exercise is a brilliant opportunity to learn or refresh the basics of filmmaking before creating your actual coursework project.

After the screening of the preliminary exercises in class, you need to create a blogpost called 'Preliminary exercise learner response' and embed your video from YouTube. Then, complete the following tasks as your feedback and learner response:

1) Type up your teacher's feedback in full plus a summary of the comments you received from other students in the class.

2) Using a combination of your own reflection on the preliminary exercise and the feedback you were given, write three WWW bullet points and three EBI bullet points for your work.

3) How effectively did you complete the objective you laid out in your mini preliminary exercise statement of intent?

4) What have you learned from the preliminary exercise that will help you in the actual coursework project?

5) Now you have completed the preliminary exercise, will you change anything about your actual coursework video plan? This could include your concept, cast/actors or technical elements such as mise-en-scene, camerawork or editing.

The deadline for these feedback and learner response tasks will be set by your coursework teacher and on Google Classroom.

OSP: Paul Gilroy - Postcolonial theory and diasporic identity

There are several important theories we need to learn and apply to our Online, Social and Participatory media unit.

These include Clay Shirky's End of Audience theories, Stuart Hall's work on representation and reality and Paul Gilroy's postcolonial theory of black diasporic identity.

Notes from the lesson

Stuart Hall: representation and reality

Stuart Hall suggests individuals each have their own conceptual map – effectively what we use to decode and understand media texts.

Building on this, Hall outlines three approaches to understanding the relationship between reality and representations: 

Reflective approach: the media simply mirrors (or reflects) the real world. This is a limited approach that minimalises the power or complexity of the media.

Intentional approach: the producer of the text constructs the world as they see it and the audience accepts those values encoded in the text. This is effectively the dominant or preferred reading (reception theory) and leaves no room for the negotiated or oppositional reading.

The constructivist approach: this was Hall’s preferred approach and closely matches reception theory with preferred and oppositional readings. This suggests concepts and signs do have some shared meanings but they are not all inherent and can be interpreted by the audience in a number of ways (dependent on their own ‘conceptual map’).

Paul Gilroy: black diasporic identity

We first explored Paul Gilroy’s theories of black diasporic identity when studying music video.

This is the idea that black identity is informed by diaspora – literally the ‘scattering of people’ across the world. He suggests this creates a “liquidity of culture” that means black identity is formed by journeys across seas, not the solid ground of a home country or culture.

Importantly, Gilroy sees this identity as impossible to reverse – there can be no return to the place of origin as the experience of slavery and displacement can never be “rewound”.

Gilroy: black British identity

The Voice newspaper was formed in 1982 to create a voice for the black British community. Gilroy wrote of the dominant representation of black Britons at that time as “external and estranged from the imagined community that is the nation”.

Gilroy suggests diaspora challenges national ideologies and creates “cultural tension”. This tension helps to create the diasporic identity but often comes with negative experiences such as exclusion and marginalisation. 

More succinctly, Gilroy sums this up as the white racist’s question to BAME people: “Why don’t you just go home?”

BBC controversy

Gilroy wrote about this in the 1970s and 1980s but it's been in the news much more recently with Brexit and Trump bringing debates about race and immigration to the fore. In 2019, the BBC found itself embroiled in a controversy regarding BBC Breakfast presenter Naga Munchetty's response to Donald Trump suggesting congresswomen should 'go home' to the countries in which they or their parents were born. The original clip and full article can be found below:




Paul Gilroy and Russell Brand

Paul Gilroy took part in Russell Brand’s Under The Skin podcast, exploring ideas and modern culture. Russell Brand has since been accused of unacceptable behaviour but the focus of this is on Paul Gilroy's answers and opinions which remain valid. Watch the following two extracts and consider how Gilroy’s ideas reflect recent events and media culture.

Extract 1: 17.50 – 25.45
Extract 2: 44.30 – 48.08

Paul Gilroy - blog tasks

Go to our Media Factsheet archive on the Media Shared drive and open Factsheet 170: Gilroy – Ethnicity and Postcolonial Theory. Our Media Factsheet archive is on the Media Shared drive: M:\Resources\A Level\Media Factsheets or you can access it online here using your Greenford Google login.

Read the Factsheet and complete the following questions/tasks:

1) How does Gilroy suggest racial identities are constructed?

2) What does Gilroy suggest regarding the causes and history of racism?

3) What is ethnic absolutism and why is Gilroy opposed to it?

4) How does Gilroy view diasporic identity?

5) What did Gilroy suggest was the dominant representation of black Britons in the 1980s (when the Voice newspaper was first launched)?

6) Gilroy argues diaspora challenges national ideologies. What are some of the negative effects of this?

7) Complete the first activity on page 3: How might diasporic communities use the media to stay connected to their cultural identity? E.g. digital media - offer specific examples.

8) Why does Gilroy suggest slavery is important in diasporic identity?

9) How might representations in the media reinforce the idea of ‘double consciousness’ for black people in the UK or US?

10) Finally, complete the second activity on page 3: Watch the trailer for Hidden Figures and discuss how the film attempts to challenge ‘double consciousness’ and the stereotypical representation of black American women.

Due date: on Google Classroom.

Y13 Baseline assessment: Learner response

Well done on completing your Y13 Media baseline assessment - it's an important first step towards success in the exams next June.

This also gave us the opportunity to revise two key topics that are likely to come up in those exams - Magazines and Radio. It's the nature of the two-year linear course that we will be assessed on topics that we may have originally studied over a year ago. As a result, it's vital that we build in revision activities and assessments across all nine types of media as we progress through Year 13. 

The first part of your baseline assessment learner response is to look carefully at your mark, grade and comments from your teacher. Next, read the mark scheme for this assessment carefully and note in particular the anticipated content for each question. 

Baseline assessment learner response

Create a new blog post called 'Y13 baseline assessment learner response' and complete the following tasks:

1) Type up your feedback in full (you don't need to write the mark and grade if you want to keep this confidential).

2) Focusing on the BBC Newsbeat question, write three ways it helps to fulfil the BBC's mission statement that you didn't include in your original assessment answer. Use the mark scheme for ideas.

3) Question two asked you how useful media effects theories are in understanding the audience response to War of the Worlds. Complete the following:

• Gerbner's Cultivation theory: useful or not useful? Why?
• Frankfurt School's Hypodermic Needle model: useful or not useful? Why?
• Stuart Hall's Reception theory: useful or not useful? Why?

4) Write a full essay plan for the 25-mark Magazines question. The mark scheme contains plenty of ideas you can use here. Your plan should include notes/bullet points addressing the following:

• Introduction: one sentence answering the original question and laying out your argument clearly.
• Paragraph 1 content/ideas:
• Paragraph 2 content/ideas:
• Paragraph 3 content/ideas:
• Paragraph 4 content/ideas:
• Conclusion: sum up your argument a final time in one sentence

5) Finally, identify three key skills/topics you want to work on in A Level Media this year before the final exams in the summer.

You will not have enough time to finish this LR in the lesson your work is returned so complete for homework - deadline on Google Classroom.

OSP: Taylor Swift CSP - Audience and Industries

The final part of our Taylor Swift case study explores Audience and Industry contexts.

The exam could focus on anything from the changing nature of digital audiences to the regulation and financial power of social media giants.

Notes from the lesson: Audience

There is a lot of interesting demographic data regarding Taylor Swift's fans:

• Overall, Swifties skew female, Democratic, millennial, and likely live in the suburbs
• A survey from American polling company Morning Consult found that 53% of Americans identify as Swift fans - meaning over half of all Americans are potentially in this audience
• Race/ethnicity: just under three-quarters White, 13% Black, 9% Asian. 
• Income: Around half make under $50,000 a year; the other half is divided between $50k-100k and $100k+
• 55% are millennials, 21% Gen X (Gen Z not covered by this survey as it was only 18+) 
• A YouGov poll found a pretty equal gender split - 52% female, 48% male 
• YouGov also found Swifties like Ed Sheeran, Lady Gaga and Adele
• Swifties pay attention to ads more than the average (56% versus 38% general population)
• They also trust influencers more than the average population (42% v 27%) 

Swift's fanbase also skews very close to the overall demographics of the US population which shows what a mainstream sensation she has become. Overall American population demographics (2020 figures): 

• Men 49.2%
• Women 50.8%
• White alone: 57.8%
• Black or African American alone: 12.4%
• Asian alone: 6.0%
• Some other race alone: 0.9%
• Generation Z: Approximately 23% of the US population (roughly half of which are legal adults)
• Millennials: Approximately 24% of the US population
• Generation X: Approximately 21% of the US population
• Baby Boomers: Approximately 28% of the US population
• About 29% of US households had an income of $100,000 or more per year in 2020.
• About 28% of US households had an income between $50,000 and $99,999 per year in 2020.

How Taylor Swift uses social media to connect with her audience - parasocial relationships: 

 

Taylor Swift: Voice of the Millennials or Generation Z?

Generations:

• Generation X: Born between 1965 – 1980
• Millennials / Generation Y: Born between 1981 – 1995
• Generation Z (or iGen): Born 1996 – 2010

Taylor Swift is a Millennial but most of her fans are Generation Z. Which generation does she best reflect? 

Industries

Social media companies overwhelmingly make their money through advertising – promoted or paid-for posts.

For Facebook and Instagram, the amount of data the parent company Meta holds about users (everything from the school they attended to their postcode) means adverts can be micro-targeted which is hugely appealing to advertisers.

Social media companies: in focus

Twitter

• Twitter was started by Jack Dorsey in 2006. It has over 200 million active users worldwide. 
• Twitter’s revenue is around $3 billion. 
• Twitter makes most of its money through advertising – promoted tweets or ‘trend takeovers’.
• In 2022 Elon Musk bought Twitter for $44 BILLION and has since added controversial new features.
• Twitter is now coming under pressure from rivals including Meta’s Threads and has been criticised for promoting hate and extreme political views.

Instagram

• Instagram is an image and video sharing site launched in 2010. 
• In 2012 it was bought by Facebook for $1 billion. Facebook and Instagram’s parent company is Meta – a global conglomerate owned by Mark Zuckerberg.
• Instagram has over 2 billion active users worldwide.
• Instagram revenue is more than $40 BILLION a year.
• Taylor Swift has 280m+ Instagram followers.

Taylor Swift and TikTok

In 2024 there was a dispute between TikTok and UMG (Swift's record label) regarding licensing the use of UMG artist songs in TikTok videos.

It was eventually resolved via a new deal but this nonetheless demonstrates the power social media companies now have across different types of media - including the music industry.

Regulation: Livingstone & Lunt

Livingstone and Lunt suggest that the British media landscape has prioritised consumer choice and commercial interests when it comes to regulation.

This fits with neoliberalist ideology.

Neoliberalism: a political approach associated with free-market capitalism prioritising free trade, globalisation and deregulation.

Livingstone & Lunt: global media regulation

Livingstone and Lunt argue the global media landscape has made it difficult for UK regulators:

• Online content has increased at a rate far faster than regulators can react to.
• User-generated content (e.g. social media) means tech giants do not technically publish their own content.
• Ofcom can’t impact on American tech giants. 
• Online anonymity makes enforcement difficult.

2023 Online Safety Bill

The 2023 Online Safety Bill is attempting to regulate the internet – but has been heavily amended and criticised as it makes its way through Parliament. 

Watch this BBC News interview on the topic: 

Watch: Channel 4 debate on regulation

Watch this Channel 4 News debate featuring the President of messaging service Signal on end-to-end encryption.

Where do you stand on this debate? 

Taylor Swift: Audience and Industries blog tasks

Create a new blogpost called 'Taylor Swift: Audience and Industries blog tasks' and work through the following to complete your case study.

Audience

Background and audience wider reading

Read this Guardian feature on stan accounts and fandom. Answer the following questions:

1) What examples of fandom and celebrities are provided in the article?

2) Why did Taylor Swift run into trouble with her fanbase? 

3) Do stan accounts reflect Clay Shirky's ideas regarding the 'end of audience'? How? 

Read this Conversation feature on the economics of Taylor Swift fandom. Answer the following questions: 

1) What do Taylor Swift fans spend their money on? 

2) How does Swift build the connection with her fans? Give examples from the article.

3) What have Swifties done to try and get Taylor Swift's attention online? 

4) Why is fandom described as a 'hierarchy'? 

5) What does the article suggest is Swift's 'business model'? 

Taylor Swift: audience questions and theories

Work through the following questions to apply media debates and theories to the Taylor Swift CSP. You may want to go back to your previous blogpost or your A3 annotated booklet for examples. 

1) Is Taylor Swift's website and social media constructed to appeal to a particular gender or audience?

2) What opportunities are there for audience interaction in Taylor Swift's online presence and how controlled are these? 

3) How does Taylor Swift's online presence reflect Clay Shirky’s ‘End of Audience’ theories? 

4) What effects might Taylor Swift's online presence have on audiences? Is it designed to influence the audience’s views on social or political issues or is this largely a vehicle to promote Swift's work? 

5) Applying Hall’s Reception theory, what might be a preferred and oppositional reading of Taylor Swift's online presence? 

Industries

How social media companies make money

Read this analysis of how social media companies make money and answer the following questions:

1) How many users do the major social media sites boast?

2) What is the main way social media sites make money? 

3) What does ARPU stand for and why is it important for social media companies? 

4) Why has Meta spent huge money acquiring other brands like Instagram and WhatsApp? 

5) What other methods do social media sites have to generate income e.g. Twitter Blue? 

Regulation of social media

Read this BBC News article on a report recommending social media regulation. Answer the following questions:

1) What suggestions does the report make? Pick out three you think are particularly interesting. 

2) Who is Christopher Wylie? 

3) What does Wylie say about the debate between media regulation and free speech? 

4) What is ‘disinformation’ and do you agree that there are things that are objectively true or false? 

5) Why does Wylie compare Facebook to an oil company? 

6) What does it suggest a consequence of regulating the big social networks might be? 

7) What has Instagram been criticised for?

8) Can we apply any of these criticisms or suggestions to Taylor Swift? For example, should Taylor Swift have to explicitly make clear when she is being paid to promote a company or cause? 

A/A* extension tasks

Read Deconstructing Taylor in Media Magazine MM51 which covers representations, postmodernism and the relationship between Swift and her fans. You can find this in our Media Magazine archive.

Read this Guardian article on teenagers and phone addiction. Do you recognise what it is discussing?

Read this Guardian article on the Online Harms Bill. What does it suggest regarding regulation of social media companies?

This Guardian article also explores the mental health implications of social media. Do you think that strict regulation of social media should happen?

Complete for homework - due date on Google Classroom.